MIA Princesses & Knights in Armor
by Romantically Loveless
Summary: Where in the Kingdom of Alice, there's a missing princess and a knight without armor. "No, it's not that. You're simply ruling a kingdom of perverts." One-shot.


**Title: **MIA Princesses & Knights in Armor**  
Summary: **Where in the Kingdom of Alice, there's a missing princess and a knight missing his armor."...they might have a fever, though. Their faces were really red." "No, it's not that. You're simply ruling a kingdom of perverts."**  
****Info: **One-shot. Fantasy/Romance. NxM.**  
Written by: **Romantically Loveless

* * *

_Once upon a time..._

_In a land far away..._

Where kings and queens ruled, King Izumi was one of the highest of the high, royal of the royals and dominated the Kingdom of Alice. His wife, Queen Yuka and daughter Princess Mikan were a tight-knit loving family. The king made fair decisions and they were the role models for all the civilians.

**.//**

Years and years passed by and the once young Princess Mikan was now a older, sixteen-year old version of herself. But at the small age of nine, the evil ruler of the neighboring Kingdom, Eiji Satoro Pin had formed an army, attacking the late Queen Yuka as her husband King Yukihira passed away in vain efforts of protecting her. Even though the tragic event happened seven long years ago and Eiji was dealt with, the princess would pay her respects every day no matter what the weather and go out in a dress her parents had bought her.

Today she was wearing a simple gown. To match the sunny day, it was single strapped, golden yellow with orange tints with a short skirt that added bounce to her every step. A smile plastered her face as she held flowers in her hand. There were never tears, or even the slightest frown on her face as she visited her mother and father.

She informed Yuu Tobita, the man in charge of her schedule that she was going out. Turning around to head out, she dropped a flower and bent down to pick it up. She turned her head to look at him and said, "Bye! I'll be back soon so don't worry." The shy secretary looked down, his face red and stuttered an, "O-okay."

Skipping along the stones in the garden, she crossed paths with the gardener and chef, who were planning a tea party. Her ears picked up their conversation. _No, it wasn't eavesdropping. Maybe. Ish. Yes._

"No, this area needs to be cleared for all the seats to fit," the shorter one noted.

"It's not like I can do it all in a day, Anna."

"You can get the cute guy to help you out."

"Ooh. You mean that one with the blond hair, Ruka?"

"I was thinking along the lines of Mochu, dear Nonoko, since Ruka's whipped for Hotaru."

"But aren't Hotaru and the butler dating?"

"Yeah, Hotaru and Hayate. The cutest couple, but that poor boy is infatuated."

"Well, if he's ever lonely he can come to m-"

Butting into the conversation, Mikan piped in a, "I'm gonna go out for a bit! You guys know where the two jokers are?"

"Umm, I think Koko and Kitsuneme are on their break." Anna replied.

"Yeah, their butler skills are pretty funny." Nonoko added.

With a quick bid goodbye, the princess walked around the area scanning for the people she needed to tell about her short leaving. Today was peaceful, a beautiful Spring day. She truly couldn't wait to see how the garden would turn out. Afterall, her love for flowers began with her mother, as they used to carefully pick seeds to plant.

All she could hear were her footsteps, fading music (most likely coming from the music room) and _singing? _Increasing her pace and listening closely, she foudnt the source of sound. The person, correction, _people _singing were Tsubasa Andou and Misaki Harada. A bodyguard and lady-in-waiting a pair? Interesting.

Feeling the random urge to cause some excitement, the devious girl jumped out from behind and yelled in her most terrifying voice. Misaki jumped and clung onto Tsubasa's neck for dear life. He was holding onto her like a married man would hold his wife--with a flushed look on his face rather than one with a wide grin spreading from ear to ear.

Mikan was afraid she had gone too far, scaring Misaki and Tsubasa out of their wits as they shared a moment _was _pretty harsh. She looked at Tsubasa, whose head was looking down and Misaki who head calmed herself down and stood with her two feet.

"Good afternoon, Princess." Misaki breathed out.

"I'm sorry. I went too far, didn't I?" Mikan apologized.

"It's okay." The bodyguard rushed.

"Alright...I'll be on my way, then. I'll be back for tea, Misaki!" She felt relief, knowing that they weren't upset with her.

"Don't wander too far off! Be safe."

"Thanks Misaki! Again, sorry about that, Tsubasa."

"No worries, no worries."

With her pace starting, Mikan yelled, "Bye!" as the two waved at her, smiling, "Oh, and Tsubasa? You should take a day off. I think you might have a fever."

She ran off, looking for Mochiage and Ruka. After that, she could finally leave the area without someone panicking at her absence. She listened for their voices, but failed to hear Misaki cursing toward Tsubasa for being so corrupted.

She was running around looking for the two males in her silver flats. It took her thirteen minutes and nine seconds of asking around and running to find the two boys..._playing chess._

Wanting to make a somewhat grand entrance, Mikan backed up, ran full speed and jumped right in front of the two with her hands resting on her hips. They looked up at her, eyes wide, then quickly looking back down at their game.

"P-p-princess, nice t-to see you. And Ruka, I move my horsey here."

"Hey, Mochu. Hey, Ruka. So I'm gonna go for a bit and I heard that Anna-"

"Anna? Is she okay?"

"Yes, she's okay. She just needs some help with the tea party. Nonoko, too."

"Mochu, the knight doesn't move like that. It has to move in a 'L' shape."

"You mean the letter that should be on your forehead? Wait. Anna needs help? We'll do it! Let's go Ruka!"

Grabbing his partner's hand, Mochu sped off with Ruka yelling in protest. Mikan inwardly smiled, mentally noting that Mochu and Anna would be paired up for future events. Now that she had informed the important people, she could go visit her parents. The way to the private memorial was simple. Go out through the back gate of the castle, follow the gravel trail, make a left at the strange cat-shaped boulder, walk along the river, and you'd be there in no time.

As she went along her usual path, she thought about how long it had been since she was able to be alone like this. Everyday was filled with bodyguards, duties and tasks. Today was a special day, the only time that she was allowed to go out alone. Today was the anniversary of her parents' passing.

Because today was the day she could go freely out on her own for an hour or so, Mikan walked through the trail, passing the cat-shaped boulder and river, she eventually found herself standing before the two stones.

"Kaa-san, Otou-san. I brought you some tea roses today." Her soft voice spoke as she lay the flowers in front of the two stones. "Isn't the weather beautiful?"

The only response she received was a slight breeze. Petals from the forget-me-nots scattered on the ground since the time she brought them the day before. Except lying right beside her flowers were cyclamens. Their purple hue made her feel at peace, but didn't stop her questioning of where they may have come from.

The next day she visited (with her bodyguards Sakurano and Subaru), there were already peonies placed. The day after that, zinnias. With each passing day, her curiosity grew larger and larger. _'Who exactly is the one leaving flowers everyday?'_

Skipping the usual afternoon tea, Mikan sped into her quarters after visiting her mother and father. She had come up with a plan to find out who the mystery person was.

As soon as she woke up, Mikan slipped on a short, white empire dress with a satin bow tied at her waist. The usual breakfast that was typically eaten slowly to savor the taste was chewed and swallowed at an incredibly fast rate. Then taking a hold of a bouquet of orange blossoms she yelled in the loudest voice she could handle, "I'm leaving! No bodyguards today!" and ran out the gate.

_'Step one: Leave the castle early. No guards. Check. Step two: Get to the memorial ASAP and find person.'_

Going past the river, in the distance was a quick movement. 'Must be an animal.' Princess Mikan assumed. Her fingers held onto her pair of silver heels. There was definitely hope for her to find the person if she ran barefoot. But the red ribbon was loosening in her hair and it slipped out and landed in the river. The heels of her feet dug into the grass. That was her utmost favourite ribbon. She had always worn it.

The decision was there. The ribbon or the mystery person. She jumped into the river to grasp the ribbon but the currents carried it out from her grip. It was gone.

A feeling of lost overtook her. The flowers were resting on the bank, so they were at least presentable, whereas she, was not. There was a wuick movement, down by the other end of the river. _'Probably a rabbit' _Mikan thought.

Her footsteps dragged on until she thought about if she couldn't save the ribbon, she could at least try to see the mystery person still. Her arms started pumping faster and faster as her feet matched the pace. She could see it now, the two still stones with...

...no one there.

A loud, disappointed sigh came from her mouth. There were already flowers there, and...

...her ribbon?

With her hands shaking, Mikan snatched her red ribbon as if someone were to steal it away from her that very moment. She let out a relieved smile for she got gotten back her _wet _ribbon. There were a trail of wet footsteps that didn't dissapear from the Princess' view. As they say, curiosity killed the cat, and Mikan followed the trail up to a Sakura tree.

Her first instinct was that it wasn't possible and that she had lost track of the mysterious flower person. Until a drip of water hit her face. Her head tilt back, and sitting in the three was a boy. A wet boy.

**.//**

Apparently, his name was Natsume Hyuuga and his horse's name was Piyo. His father was an artist, his mother a florist. He had a younger sister by the name of Aoi, who he nick-named 'Buriko.' His crimson eyes and raven hair was inherited from his mother and it seemed that he was seventeen.

_But was he the one who picked up her ribbon and left the flowers?_

Yes, yes he was.

**.//**

They ended up meeting up everyday after paying their respects to the late King and Queen together. Apparently, her mom was his mom's Godmother, vice versa. She laughed and commented on how small the world was, as he chuckled at the coincidence.

He explained everything to her the second day. He recently came back from training. He was going to be a knight and protect the kingdom but as soon as he heard about the incident involving her parents (which happened to be _years _after it happened) he'd been coming by everyday to leave flowers. They began discussing about how it was to rule a Kingdom, only being so young.

"My butlers and bodyguards could have caught a fever, though. Their faces were really red."

"No, it's not that. You're simply ruling a kingdom of perverts."

"What're you getting at, Natsume?"

"Let me guess. You were jumping around when you saw them?"

"Hey! How'd you know? Are you a mind reader?"

"No, if you were jumping around in one of your dresses then they must have seen what was under it," Natsume brought his mouth to her ear and whispered, "Pol-_ka_."

An immediate blush came to her face. She was baffled, shocked and most of all, embarrassed.

"Hey! How'd you know?" She accused.

"The day I met you. You were wearing a white dress, completely soaked."

"So?"

"White is see-through when wet."

"Ugh."

"Tomorrow. Usual time and place?"

"M-mhmm..."

"Eleven-thirty at the Sakura tree it is, then."

**.//**

It was 11:37 a.m. and if she were thinking about it yesterday, she'd be with Natsume talking about _everything _by now. Instead, she was in the throne room, listening to everybody's problems. Right now, she was (Well, mostly Hotaru. Since she managed the budget) listening to a man who claimed that his son, Antwan wouldn't come home because he was a jail keeper watching a 'Queen of Randomness' named Yuna.

The only thoughts going through her mind were that _'Natsume was going to get so mad at her,' 'This guys is nuts,' _and _'Natsume was going to get so mad at her.'_

"Sorry, I'll be stealing Princess over here for the day."

By the time Mikan could react, she was picked up and on the back of the Piyo. As the horse tilted back, her arms instinctively wrapped around the knight's torso, unrelenting. Piyo neighed and charged out of the room.

"Stop you fool! Princess Mikan, come back!" the guards demanded. Running with their utmost effort for this surprise 'kidnapping.' They continued on with their threats and yelled for the Princess to come back.

But she didn't feel obligated to assume her position for the day. Change was good. Besides, her best friend and brain of the castle, Hotaru Imai could handle it. The guards continued the chasing, until the horse had led them to the private Sakura tree they've grown accustomed to.

She was gasping for air. There was never a point in her life where she felt so light and riveted. At this very moment she was on a horse, running away from her duties, with a man she had fell in love with within weeks. The steed slowed down, the climax was over. Even if it was just for a day, she was free to do whatever she wanted. _'Such a, moment' _she mentally chided. Taking his helmet off, he seemed even cooler than Prince Charming. He didn't need a slow motion hair-flick. His hair stood up in awkward positions, making her giggle. Sweat glistened on his face. He looked as if he could be Aphrodite's lover.

His face neared hers, foreheads touching. The warmth was there, evident, as he intertwined his fingers with hers. For moments they just stayed in their place, looking in each others eyes. Until they each mustered up enough courage and titled their heads in...

**.//**

"Polka? Wake up. C'mon, you're drooling on me. Wake up, Polka." Natsume lightly supported Mikan's legs and back, effortlessly lifting her so her knees were bent over his thigh and her back lay resting on his other leg, positioned up just for her.

Mikan stretched her arms out yawning as Natsume dodged her moving fists.

"Hey Natsume?"

"What, Polka? Are you going to pay for my dry cleaning now?"

"Have you ever considered wearing shining armor?"

"Wait. What the fu-"

* * *

**A/N: Honey, I could be doing other things but this. But no. I spent New Years Eve writing for you.**

**I posted this before 2010! Oh yes I did.**

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